Senator GALLAGHER (Australian Capital Territory—Minister for the Public Service, Minister for Finance, Minister for Women, Manager of Government Business in the Senate and Vice-President of the Executive Council) (14:15): Well, I have a couple of things to kick off with there. No. 1 is that renewable energy is the cheapest form of energy—that is No. 1. No. 2: there is a war in Europe, right? And, No. 3, we are fixing a decade of— Opposition senators interjecting— The PRESIDENT: Order! Minister, please resume your seat. Senator Wong interjecting— The PRESIDENT: Order, Senator Wong. When there's quiet I will ask the minister to continue. Senator GALLAGHER: Thank you. Our Powering Australia policy, which was modelled before the election— Senator Cash interjecting— Senator Wong interjecting— The PRESIDENT: Senator Wong and Senator Cash! Please continue, Minister. Senator GALLAGHER: Thank you. Our policy, which was modelled before the election, clearly outlined the policies that we need to implement in order to put downward pressure on household and business energy bills. That is what we are doing— Senator Cash: And you're not doing very well, are you? Senator GALLAGHER: Well, if I can respond to the interjection: what about the little sneaky 20 per cent increase that you guys hid before the election? Do you remember that? Remember that? The Treasurer said, 'Oh, let's take this rather unusual step of not allowing that to happen.' Opposition senators interjecting— The PRESIDENT: Minister, please resume your seat. Order! Minister Gallagher. Senator GALLAGHER: Thank you, President. The 20 per cent increase that was known to the former government before the election—let's put that out. Then you hid it, and you hid it because you were dishonest. That's another reason why you were kicked out of office, because people didn't trust you and they didn't think you were doing the right thing. So let's just— The PRESIDENT: Minister Gallagher, please resume your seat. Senator Henderson. Senator Henderson: President, I rise on a point of order. I would again ask you to direct the minister to make her comments through the chair. Saying, 'People don't trust you,' is very derogatory of you, President. The PRESIDENT: Thank you, Senator Henderson. The minister is, largely, addressing the chair. Honourable senators interjecting— The PRESIDENT: Order! Minister. Senator GALLAGHER: Thank you. We are implementing our Powering Australia plan, and you can see it through the budget. I'm happy to go through measures of it. We have our Rewiring the Nation—remember that? It's because the energy grid isn't fit for purpose. I wonder why? Ten years of a government that didn't do anything, that didn't do its job. So, yes, that's in the budget. We've got money for dispatchable storage technology, we've got money for community batteries— Senator McGrath: So yes or no? The PRESIDENT: Minister Gallagher, please assume your seat. Senator McGrath, you seem to be desperate to ask questions, but you don't ask them— Honourable senators interjecting— The PRESIDENT: Order! You don't ask them by constantly interjecting across the chamber. Please continue, Minister Gallagher. Senator GALLAGHER: Thank you, I will. We've got community batteries for household solar, we've got community solar banks— The PRESIDENT: Minister Gallagher, please resume your seat. Senator Cash? Senator Cash: Thank you, President, my point of order is in relation to relevance. With all due respect, again, to the minister, you were answering a lot of questions, potentially— The PRESIDENT: What's your point of order? Senator Cash: Yes, but not the question that I asked— The PRESIDENT: No, I'm sorry, what's the point of order? Senator Cash: in relation to if the Powering Australia measures reduce electricity prices by $275 as promised. The PRESIDENT: Senator Cash— Senator Cash: That was the question— The PRESIDENT: Senator Cash, you've been in the chamber for all of this week and almost every day I've asked people, when they're making a point of order, to simply state the point of order. You have repeated the question; you just need to stand and make a short statement. If it's about relevance, then make that statement. I do believe that the minister is canvassing a whole range of options around power bills, such as was in the preamble to your question. I'll listen to the last 18 seconds of the minister's answer and, if she's not being relevant I will direct her to your question. Minister. Senator GALLAGHER: Thank you, President. I was asked about the Powering Australia plan, which is exactly what I'm going to in my answer. So we have the community solar banks and we've got energy efficiency grants, which my colleague Senator McAllister has carriage of. We've got other programs in the budget which deliver on the Powering Australia plan. We know that delivering that will lower power prices— (Time expired) The PRESIDENT: Senator Cash, a first supplementary question.